Roasted Vegetables with Pesto

by formerchef on March 21, 2013

After my recent rant about pesto, I thought it only fair to share a new dish using home made pesto sauce. This recipe gets bonus point for being easy. It’s something you can throw in the oven to cook, then grill a piece of fish or chicken while it’s cooking and you have a meal in about half an hour.

These vegetables are something I’ve been making at least once a week for the past couple of months. To give credit where it is due, the dish was inspired by my mother, who offered up some vegetables out of her refrigerator before going out of town for a week. She suggested I roast the eggplant and tomatoes together with the mushrooms. I added a few other ingredients and served it during a weekend away with friends. Wouldn’t you know, it was a hit? The roasted mushrooms seemed to be everyone’s favorite part (though mine is the eggplant, of course).

This recipe is extremely adaptable:

It can be served hot from the oven, at room temperature, or even cold, like an antipasto salad.

Don’t have one of the ingredients? Leave it out or substitute another vegetable (but do include the mushrooms if you can, trust me on this).

Tiny new potatoes (quartered if larger than 2″) do especially well, as would other root vegetables like baby carrots or even parsnips.

Adapt it for the seasons, depending on what’s in the market.

Even the leftovers are flexible; I’ve used them in salads, mixed with whole grains, and in pastas (just add some cooked pasta and a bit more pesto and you have a meal).

If you have a garden and grow your own eggplant, I encourage you to save (or Pin) this recipe for the summer when you are looking for something to do with all that excess produce; it’s a perfect make-ahead summer dish.